Tony Cascarino has made a bold claim about West Ham midfielder Declan Rice ahead of his England debut.
The West Ham star could make his bow for the Three Lions this evening (Friday) as Gareth Southgate's side take on Czech Republic at Wembley in a Euro 2020 qualifier, having been called up to the England senior squad for the first time since switching international allegiance from Republic of Ireland.
And ahead of Rice's potential debut for England, Cascarino has likened him to one of his former team-mates.
"He reminds me of Paul McGrath, my old Ireland teammate, in that he makes playing in both positions look so easy. Declan never gets flustered, even in the big games," said Cascarino, speaking on Talksport.
Why Declan Rice is the perfect defensive midfielder that Pochettino and Spurs are crying out for
Cascarino, who played for Millwall, Chelsea and Marseille, among other clubs, played alongside McGrath at club and international level, for Aston Villa and Republic of Ireland, and he added that he is a huge fan of Rice.
Meanwhile, he made a big claim about the 20-year-old, who has played 28 times for West Ham in the Premier League this season, scoring twice.
Indeed, he said he reckons England could have a star on their hands.
“He looks like a veteran of 300 league appearances. He is so composed, a master of simplicity who sits in front of the back four and refuses to give the ball away. He’s better than Eric Dier, who does a similar job for Tottenham,” said Cascarino.
West Ham star Declan Rice reveals how he found out about his first England call-up from sick bed
England's game against Czech Republic kicks off at 7.45pm this evening.
Keep up to date with the latest news, features and exclusives from football.london via the free football.london app for iPhone and Android .
Available to download from the App Store and Google Play .
